Sato et al. reported that in 1763 patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD, including 1235 IPF) who underwent thoracic surgery for lung cancer, the male gender, history of previous acute exacerbation, preoperative steroid use, serum KL-6 levels, low vital capacity, usual interstitial pneumonia pattern on chest CT scan, and type of surgery were independent predicting factors for postoperative AE [35]. This evidence concerns the gene MUC1 and interstitial lung disease.